Behind the Seams: Understanding Youth Attitudes Toward Sustainable Clothing and Textile Waste
The fashion industry is one of the largest global polluters, generating significant textile waste and environmental harm, particularly through fast fashion—an approach to mass-producing low-cost clothing that prioritizes speed and trend turnover. Generation Z (ages 18–24), a key demographic in shaping sustainable trends, holds growing awareness of these environmental and social impacts, yet behavior change remains inconsistent. This capstone project, Behind the Seams: Understanding Youth Attitudes Toward Sustainable Clothing and Textile Waste, aimed to explore how young adults perceive fast fashion and what motivates or prevents them from adopting sustainable shopping behaviors. I designed and led an outreach campaign that included educational presentations, interactive capsule closet demonstrations, and a survey distributed to University of Washington students. Survey responses revealed that many students are familiar with the term “fast fashion” and express concern for its consequences. They are most influenced by messages that emphasize benefits for the environment. However, barriers such as affordability, convenience, and lack of accessible alternatives limit consistent sustainable action. These findings indicate that effective sustainable fashion campaigns must pair education with systemic solutions—such as economic incentives, clearer labeling, and policy changes—to address underlying structural barriers. By centering youth perspectives and combining education with broader advocacy, this project offers a pathway for engaging emerging consumers in the transition to more equitable and sustainable fashion systems.
